Literary Master 1983

Chapter 210 Like a God (Part )
It was around nine o'clock. Someone who came back from outside said, "I just heard that Yu Qie was nominated for a Japanese literature award? He actually wrote a Japanese novel?"

"What literary award?"

"I don't know, it's a Japanese literary award."

"How is that possible? Chinese, Japanese novel? Listen to what you are saying?"

"really."

"I do not believe!"

Writers in Beijing had heard of this news a long time ago, but thought it was nonsense. Unexpectedly, it also started to spread in Shanghai.

"Yu Qie was nominated for the Japanese Literature Award? Isn't that fake news?" Chen Jiangong asked Li Duo.

Li Duo shook his head: "I don't know, I can't judge."

Chen Jiangong said, "It's fake, fake. This is too bizarre. I'm going to eat a bowl of noodles and we'll talk later."

There were more than 100 writers at the Hangzhou meeting, divided into several groups. Yu Qie, Liu Zhenyun, Yu Hua and others were one group, Li Duo, Chen Jiangong and others from Beijing were another group, and there were also literary critics and translators from Shanghai...

Everyone has something interesting to say, and the news spreads from circle to circle.

No one failed to mention what happened in the afternoon: Yu Qie and some young writers showed their aversion to casual chatter, he was sharp and sharp, as if he had a clear plan in mind, and then after listening all day, he really couldn't hold back.

Everyone has their own judgment on Yu Qie's ideas.

Li Duo thinks Yu Qie did a great job. The reason why there has been no progress in the recent literary conference is that everyone thinks they are the key.

A young writer named Guan Moye had a quarrel with others because he thought Yu Qie's achievements were obviously much higher than Chen Jiangong's. In other words, when there is a disagreement, one should listen to the one with greater achievements.

Although Chen Jiangong has a long history and once edited articles about the deeds of model workers in Beijing together with Wang Shimin, the editor-in-chief of October, those articles do not count. A writer's achievements are not determined by age.

Jincheng writer Jia Pingtu asked people everywhere whether Yu Qie had really written a Japanese novel and whether it could be sold in Japan.

The reason is that Jia Pingtu felt that his royalties were too low and hoped that his novels could be sold abroad, but few mainland writers have such experience.

Qu Tiening and Wang Anyi were shocked by the news, especially Qu Tiening, because she had the same conflicting feelings as Yu Hua:
The writer Yu Qie not only sleeps on the upper and lower bunks with her, but may also fly to Japan to win a literary award - it's like your roommate who eats well-prepared meals while passing the exam to become a civil servant in a ministry.

You feel that the closest time to him in your life is now. It's like living with a giant who can hurt you at any time.

The news spread wider and wider, more and more people heard about it, and some even confirmed it.

They shouted: "Yu Che has been nominated, absolutely true! Comrades, this is true!"

This news swept through the Xinxin Hotel on the West Lake like a storm!

"What really?"

Chen Jiangong had already brought the noodles over and was eating while cursing: "Yu Qie is somewhat right, these people are talking too absurdly."

"We've been talking nonsense all day, but we didn't expect that we would continue to talk nonsense during supper. It's even more bizarre. The nonsense about Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism is not enough, and now the Japanese have joined in! What do you think, Master Duo?"

Li Duo couldn't laugh anymore when he heard this. With so many people discussing it, he couldn't say it was nonsense!
He said to Chen Jiangong: "Are you going to apologize to Yu Qie?"

"Why should I apologize? It was just a literary discussion." Chen Jiangong took two mouthfuls of noodles.

"If Yu Qie wins the award, you will become a timely villain. Then everyone will trample you into the ground just to flatter Yu Qie!"

As soon as Li Duo finished speaking, the intern editor of Beijing Literature suddenly came over to find Li Duo. The editor looked around, not knowing whether to speak loudly, so Li Duo asked him to whisper in his ear.

Then, Li Duo was shocked and stood up to answer the phone.

Beijing Literature called him, and it kept calling him since 7 o'clock! It took more than two hours for them to finally get through.

Li Duo already knew what kind of call he was going to receive. He picked up the phone and it rang like a bullet being loaded. His heart skipped a beat. Then, Li Duo asked:

"This is Li Duo, what's going on?"

The person on the other end of the phone was so excited: "Teacher Li, the news said that Yu Qie was nominated for the Akutagawa Prize. We think he is likely to win the prize next year."

"What award are you talking about?"

"The Akutagawa Prize is the Japanese literary award, second only to Kawabata Yasunari. It has been held for more than 90 years. To be honest, it is the second prize in Asian literature! It's a big prize!"

Li Duo certainly understands this. The Mao Dun Prize is only being awarded for the second time, so how can it be compared to other awards that have been around for nearly a hundred years?
So the rumor was true?
Chen Jiangong, you fool, go and apologize now!
The other end of the phone said, "We urgently took a look at the other two Japanese novels. We think they are far inferior to "Happy Hunting"! It's no exaggeration, there is no comparison at all! Teacher Li, Yu Qie is possible, he is definitely possible."

The person on the other end of the phone was so excited that he stuttered.

This is not surprising! Not only the messenger, but Li Duo himself was also shocked.

Is it really possible that Yu Qie’s novel could appear on the podium in Japan?
A few years ago, the women's volleyball team won the Asian Championship in Nagoya and were hailed as national heroes. Nie Weiping defeated Japan's top chess players, and the central government sent him a congratulatory message - if Yu Qie can really win the award, who here can compare with him?
Li Duo was definitely not the first to know. Soon, the news spread around the hotel and many people knew about it. Chen Jiangong also knew about it. He looked for people to confirm it, but his face turned pale. He was so anxious that he frantically asked where Yu Qie was. He wanted to go and "chat with him for a while" - if he was really criticized by Yu Qie on this day, he would be nailed to the pillar of shame!
There are already predecessors who have set an example! Liu Xinwu was the victim of a minor quarrel that eventually turned into a tragic incident.

Wouldn't I be nicknamed "Chen Chetan" from now on?

At ten o'clock, the news spread further. Not only the one hundred writers in the hotel, but also the leaders of the Hangzhou Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the Writers Association knew about it. Many of them were awakened from their sleep, and those who lived nearby immediately decided to come to comfort writer Yu and encourage him to keep up the good work and not be too proud of his success or too discouraged by his failure.

It’s best to take a group photo to commemorate this moment!
Hangzhou Literary Conference, and the nomination for the Japanese Literary Award. History will remember this moment.

Above them were other leaders who had just heard the news. Those who had some connection with Yu Qie mentioned their own contributions, while those who had no connection with him talked about the development of literature in recent years and the creation of the general environment... Those who had nothing to do with literature sent congratulatory messages.

Congratulatory message!

Congratulatory message!

Congratulatory message!

Congratulatory messages came from Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Chengdu... Upon hearing that Yu Che was nominated, we wish him the best in the end!
It is difficult to understand people’s desire for foreign recognition at this time, just as it is incomprehensible why the women’s volleyball team’s record can be equated with the nation’s character and national dignity!
It is so absurd and yet so true that people pick out the good qualities and achievements of a minority of this nation to represent their vision for the future.

In Beijing, the editorial office of October, which had known the news early on, was a sea of ​​joy. Zhang Shouren burst into tears and said, "Our novels can already compete with international novels, especially those from the more developed country of Japan." Editor-in-chief Wang Shimin recalled the goal of the founding of the magazine: to make October a publication that leads the literary trends!
Although the New Reality series has not yet won a major award, Yu Che has already gained foreign recognition with other works, which also achieved the goal of "October"!

Wang Shimin took out the translation paper with the conversation between Yu Qie and Midorikawa Heng written on it from the drawer: "Comrades, Ba Lao's manuscript was used to make paper pulp, and we are indifferent. The leader's handwriting was used to make paper pulp, and we will continue to ignore it, but this piece of paper... This piece of paper must not be used to make paper pulp!"

"why?"

He waved the paper and suddenly laughed, "Because this piece of paper is mine!"

Zhang Shouren was stunned for half a second, then rushed forward to grab the piece of paper: "Editor-in-Chief, this piece of paper belongs to our magazine. It either belongs to Yu Qie or everyone..."

The others were also excited and instinctively followed Zhang Shouren and rushed forward.

Wang Shimin was afraid that the paper would be torn, so he could only explain: "I know, I know!" He laughed, "I was just joking!"

Then he started coughing loudly: "Cough! Cough!"

"Editor-in-Chief, are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

Everyone looked at the piece of paper in Wang Shimin's hand. Wang Shimin calmed down and stared at the piece of paper. Suddenly, he said something completely unrelated: "Comrades, after the introduction of the new publishing house, our pulp is no longer as tight as it was before. In the future, we should save the valuable paper! Let's start from this piece of paper, Yu Qie."

"Correct!"

Everyone agreed with his idea, and then Wang Shimin said: "I feel that I have completed most of the tasks I promised. Whether Yu Qie wins the prize or not, I will be very pleased... If Yu Qie wins the prize, you must tell me."

At this time, no one knew what Wang Shimin meant by these words. Only Zhang Shouren knew a little: Wang Shimin was in poor health and had been going to the hospital frequently recently.

But... this shouldn't be the case, right? Why does it feel like a farewell?

Zhang Shouren looked at Wang Shimin worriedly, but Wang Shimin said, "Our work is not in vain! Old brother, our work is not in vain this time! The job of an editor is hard and busy, and only these, only these..." He kept waving the paper in his hand and sighed, "Only these can make my work and my trip worthwhile!"

Yu Qie, who was at the center of the storm, hardly slept, and writers came to congratulate him one after another.

Chen Jiangong didn't even have time to finish his noodles. He came to Yu Qie and asked, "Are we okay? We're just discussing literature, right?"

"We're fine." Yu Qie replied.

"Yu Qie, you really don't have any personal opinions about me, right? This is just a discussion of a literary nature?"

"You think too much. I'm not that kind of person."

Chen Jiangong said immediately: "That's good, that's good, everyone is listening, please don't write any articles to criticize my character... I will listen to you about whatever you want to say in this meeting. Anyway, it's all nonsense, so I won't say anything."

Why be confident at first and respectful later?

Everyone present laughed.

Chen Jiangong thought in his heart: Yu Qie is too evil. No matter whether you are a scholar or a warrior, you can't beat him. Stay away from him from now on!
I just made a few remarks in rebuttal when he suddenly used the international award to pressure me. Why did it have to go this far?
In order to compete for Yu Qie's manuscripts, the editors offered extremely generous conditions, hoping that Yu Qi could submit his most recent manuscript to their publications. If he really had no time to write novels, he could also write a diary to share his creative experience, which readers would surely like to read.

Some people suddenly had an idea: could they write an essay about the time from today to the day the award is presented?
Yu Qiuyu is going to write "Cultural Journey" in the future. Why must this "Cultural Journey" be written by someone with the prefix "Yu"?
Others said that the content of the speeches at the Hangzhou conference could be revised and written into a paper and sent to the Journal of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

After sending these guests away, Li Xiaolin and others who had returned from the foundation had the opportunity to tell Yu Qie what had happened during the day.

Duanduan had already fallen asleep. The room was full of worried adults.

Alai said: "We want to raise some money and help as much as possible. But although we have the idea, we don't have the ability to do so."

Li Xiaolin said it more bluntly: "Yu Qie! We are the same as Duanduan. We can buy a hundred or a thousand sugar pills, and then ask our partners to buy them, and ask our brothers and sisters to buy them... In the end, this is all we can do."

"But what we need is at least millions of sugar pills. In our minds, the person most likely to help us is you."

A heavy weight of hope weighed on Yu Qie.

They did not attend the conference, but they understood the essence of a writer, and this essence has now been passed on to Yu Qie.

Of course Yu Qie agreed to this matter.

From now on, the Hangzhou meeting should have a specific theme, and this meeting can become the first step in promoting the "sugar pill".

He said: "The most interesting thing after I was admitted to Yenching University was that I found many strange people. They had a lot of knowledge that I didn't know. I was also famous in the school, so they always came to talk to me. Once I was stopped by a researcher who studied the Mesopotamian region. He asked me, Yu Qie, do you know who is the earliest writer in the world?"

"How should I know? I don't know." Yu Qie recalled, shaking his head.

"I just vaguely remember that the earliest literature of mankind was all about praising religion and gods. In fact, this is the origin of all human art forms. The reason why it is the origin is that it is not 'mature' and there is a clear dividing line."

"Then, the researcher told me that the earliest writer was Enheduanna, a female writer from the Sumerian civilization, 4,300 years ago. At that time, our oracle bones would not appear for another 700 years. The reason why she is considered the earliest writer is not because she wrote dozens of mythological novels, but because she suddenly created the word 'I' at the last moment of her life."

"What is 'I'? 'I' means me! Alai, you often talk about King Gesar and write hymns to the gods, but novels start with focusing on human beings themselves, and only then do they become a real literature."

"How could I not agree to your request? Even if I lived 4,300 years ago, I would still agree to your request." Yu Qie said with a smile. It was as if this was something that he could do easily, but he still needed some time to "turn over his palm".

When he turns over his palm, the three sugar pills in Duanduan's hand will become endless and inexhaustible in his hand until they are satisfied for the children who need them.

His eyes fell on Alai, as if he had traveled through time and space. His voice became as deep as the universe, "Because that's exactly why I came here."

Is it that Yu Qie's voice is too deep?
Or was it because of the exhaustion and fatigue of the whole day that Ale's body had reached its limit?

Alai didn't know.

Alai felt as if he was hit by a bell; his mind exploded with a bang. Yu Qie's words, the King Gesar folk song he had sung, and the epic biography of tens of millions of words collided and blended with each other violently, forming a halo that he could not bear. He looked at the incandescent lamp on the ceiling of the guesthouse and suddenly fainted.

To others, it looked like he was so excited that he fainted!

(End of this chapter)